St. Catherine of Siena

"What I want is many works of patient and courageous endurance and of the other virtues I have described to you – interior virtues that are all active in bearing the fruit grace." -St. Catherine of Siena relaying the words God spoke to her in a vision

"I told you also the teaching and principal foundation you should give to those who come to you for counsel because they want to leave behind the darkness of deadly sin and follow the path of virtue. I told you to give them as principle and foundation an affectionate love for virtue through knowledge of [...]

"This is why I told you earlier that if those who eat at the table of penance are not truly humble, and if their penance becomes their chief concern rather than an instrument of virtue, they will often, by this sort of grumbling, sin against their very perfection. So they should not be foolish, but [...]

"So let silence or a holy argument for virtue be in your mouth to discourage vice. And when you think you discern vice in others, put it on your own back as well as theirs, acting always with true humility. Then if the vice is truly there, such people will change their ways all the [...]

"Even if your neighbor’s sins are clearly shown to your spirit not just once or twice but many times, you should still not confront them with specific sins. Rather, when they come to visit you, you should correct their bad habits in a general way and lovingly and kindly plant the virtues [in their place], [...]

"Your chief desire ought to be to slay your selfish will so that it neither seeks nor wants anything but to follow [God's] gentle Truth, Christ crucified, by seeking the honor and glory of [His] name and the salvation of souls." -St. Catherine of Siena

"So let silence or a holy argument for virtue be in your mouth to discourage vice.ÿ And when you think you discern vice in others, put it on your own back as well as theirs, acting always with true humility.ÿ Then if the vice is truly there, such people will change their ways all the [...]

"Even if your neighbor's sins are clearly shown to your spirit not just once or twice but many times, you should still not confront them with specific sins.ÿ Rather, when they come to visit you, you should correct their bad habits in a general way and lovingly and kindly plant the virtues [in their place], [...]

Your chief desire ought to be to slay your selfish will so that it neither seeks nor wants anything but to follow [God's] gentle Truth, Christ crucified, by seeking the honor and glory of [His] name and the salvation of souls. The Dialogue was dictated by St. Catherine during an ecstasy that she experienced. [...]